


The Fool

by mandathegreat



Series: Clockwork Series [4]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Anal Sex, Divination, Drama, Kings & Queens, M/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Mpreg, Tarot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-11-24
Packaged: 2018-03-29 20:58:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3910423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandathegreat/pseuds/mandathegreat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So continues the story, set in the time,</p>
<p>When four kingdoms are united, and doing just fine,</p>
<p>But there are people out there, plotting awful deeds,</p>
<p>A Joker is just what the Spades Kingdom needs.</p>
<p>USUK Cardverse Sequel</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> i'm doing the thing. this is a real clockwork length sequel. The story begins three years after the events of clockwork.
> 
> Arthur is 24, Alfred is 23.

_I’ve always said some stories don’t want to end,_

_Do you not think that’s true?_

_It seems that when things are at last on the mend,_

_There is conflict beginning anew._

 

_For in our most beloved place, The Kingdom of Spades,_

_There’s news to be faced—King, sharpen your blades._

_Queen, sharpen your tongue,_

_Jack, sharpen your mind,_

_Or else you’ll be among,_

_The ones left behind._

_I’m sorry—it appears that I’ve said too much,_

_That message is not mine to say._

_So let me tell the story as such,_

_In a new, less ominous way._

_The Kingdom of Spades was filled with glee,_

_For there was a ball to be had,_

_To celebrate their one-thousandth anniversary,_

_And every soul in the kingdom was glad._

_Every soul, I should say, but one—_

_If he had any soul left at all._

_For this man was a man of dark magic,_

_And he had happily followed its call._

_He had been planning, planning a scheme,_

_Planning until he was mad._

_And with a voice not unlike a scream,_

_These are the words that he said:_

 

_"Fools and Jacks and Queens and Kings,_

_Magic makes the whole world sing._

_Until the magic’s not so nice,_

_Then Kings and Jacks might just think twice._

_There’s danger here, danger, my Queen,_

_From wondrous worlds stuck in between,_

_Where words mean more than what you think,_

_And one drop of poison can make you sink._

_My Queen, you don’t deserve your crown,_

_I’d love to see it falling down,_

_To hear the metal hit the floor,_

_The clanging like a mighty roar._

_Why should you get what I once had?_

_Why should you get what I wanted so bad?_

_Maybe not in this kingdom, no, not in this land,_

_But in another one, by another King’s hand._

_The right I was born to was taken from me,_

_But there you are, married, then made royalty._

_Seeing your crown is simply the worst,_

_I’ll get all of them someday, but you will be first._

_Please carry on, keep up this charade._

_Let all men cheer your name in the parade,_

_For the thing you fear most is the thing I love best,_

_And your lovely dark magic will put you to rest."_

_So continues the story, set in the time,_

_When four kingdoms are united, and doing just fine,_

_But there are people out there, plotting awful deeds,_

_A Joker is just what the Spades Kingdom needs._


	2. Chapter One

Arthur was doing nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. He could tell that he was dreaming immediately then, because he didn’t have the time to do nothing. He was the Queen of an entire Kingdom, for the gods’ sakes.

That had been a bit of an adjustment. Not necessarily the lifestyle, but the responsibility of it all. Also, he was still the Mage of Storms. That was a whole other level of stuff he needed to worry about. And here he was, ruining an entire dream with his worries, as usual. His own damn mind wouldn’t let him relax. At this point, Arthur was convinced he’d have gray hair at twenty-five. Less than a year to go with that.

It will be three years tomorrow, Queen for three years. There had been mistakes, of course, and he and Alfred had gotten into plenty of petty arguments, sure, but those three years were easily the best years of his li—

“Wake up!” A familiar voice said in a hushed whisper. Arthur blinked his eyes open to see his husband’s lovely face smiling rather mischievously down at him.

“Alfre—“ He began, planning on scolding him for waking him up.

“Shh!”

“Why are we whispering, Alfred? It’s the middle of the night, what’s going on?” Was something wrong?

The King smiled again. “There’s something you absolutely need to see. C’mon!”

He pulled Arthur out of bed, and still in pajamas, they traveled down the tower stairs. It was dark in the hallways of the palace, most of the candles were blown out, and only moonlight served to light their way…somewhere.

“What the hell is happening, Alfred?” Arthur said, a bit harshly.

Alfred laughed, sort of muted, like he was trying to hide it. “You’ll see, honey.” He definitely added the pet name to piss him off. He apparently reached his destination, because they stopped walking, or in Arthur’s case, being dragged around the castle.

“Here we are.” Alfred said, grin almost illuminating in the dark. They were in the middle of the castle, some random hallway. Honestly, no matter how long he lived here, he would never know the palace like Alfred did.

“There’s nothing here, Al. What if a guard comes around right now, look at what I’m wearing!” He was wearing Alfred’s shirt, which hit him at about mid-thigh, and nothing else.

Alfred took time to look him up and down in the dim light, making a non-committal grunt of approval. “I think you look great. But if I saw a guard looking at you in my shirt, I might need to reconsider his employment, hmm? Who am I kidding; you’d fry him in a second. Anyway, this is not our final destination.”

He pulled away the tapestry from the wall, revealing the hidden staircase they had come to know so well. Oh.

“Well, it’s hard to see in the dark.” Arthur mumbled, as he was pulled up the spiraling stairs.

When he reached the top, he was greeted by a surprising sight. Their hidden place was transformed from a dusty storage tower, into a nice, comfortable space, complete with several couches, adorned with plush pillows that looked so soft, several bookshelves filled with all different kind of books, and even a dais that was in the perfect place to be lit by moonlight from the big window, and by sunlight in the day.

“What’s all this for, Alfred?” He asked, softly.

The King looked sheepish, a little red in the candlelight. “I—well, I just know you’ve been working so hard, and I thought you deserved a little place all your own to rest. I mean, you have your office, but it’s all filled with work, and I suppose they could give you another bedroom to relax in, but people would talk, and—“

Alfred was getting flustered, so Arthur had no choice but to kiss him firmly on the mouth. At first, Alfred was still, surprised by the kiss, but, he quickly smiled and deepened it, wrapping his husband up into an embrace. When the pulled away, Arthur began to speak, but was interrupted by the chimes of the nearby clock tower, twelve chimes, to be exact.

“It’s midnight.” Arthur said, simply.

“I’m still not a pumpkin.” Alfred responded almost immediately. They laughed, enjoying the moment and their silly inside joke. Alfred took his hand, and led him to a soft looking couch.

“Gods, it’s been three years, Arthur.” Alfred said, awe in his voice.

“I know. I almost can’t believe it.” Arthur leaned into him as they looked out the window, perfect for stargazing.

“So, yeah, I know it’s not much, but this place is a present from me to you for putting up with me for three years.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “I _like_ putting up with you, love. But thank you, anyway. I really needed something like this.” He let himself be pulled into a hug, and felt his body relax in Alfred’s warmth.

He spoke again, head still resting on Alfred’s shoulder. “But what am I to give the man who has everything for our anniversary?” He pulled back to look him in the eyes.

“I don’t need anything from you, Arthur.”

Arthur had some ideas up his sleeve, and stood up, only to straddle his husband on the couch. “Yeah, but do you _want_ anything from me?”

Alfred’s hands came up to rest on his hips, slowly caressing downward to his bare thighs. He smirked. “Always.”

They kissed then, hard and passionate, with Alfred’s hands roaming Arthur’s hips and back, Arthur’s hands tangled in his hair. They pulled away for a split second to gasp for air before diving in again. Arthur moaned at Alfred’s tongue tracing his and Alfred reacted enthusiastically, throwing Arthur down on his back on the couch.

Somehow in the process, Alfred’s elbow managed to bang into Arthur’s stomach, winding him, causing him to cry out.

“Gods, Arthur, are you alright?” He immediately had his hands on his stomach, rubbing to see if he was sore.

“It’s fine, love. I just got a little knocked around, that’s all.” He put his hand over Alfred’s, attempting to stop the stroking of his ticklish tummy.

Alfred seemed lost in thought as he stared at their hands, Arthur’s Mage ring on his right hand clinking with Alfred’s wedding band on his left hand.

“What is it, Alfred?”

He spoke, quietly. “I thought of something I might want.”

“What?”

Alfred grabbed Arthur’s hand in both of his, staring him right in the eyes. “Do you, um, maybe want to…” He trailed off.

Alfred wasn’t the type of person to shy away from conversation, so Arthur was curious. “What is it, love?"

“I just couldn’t stop thinking about if we had a…family.” Oh. Well, that came out of nowhere. Not that Arthur hadn’t been thinking about it. He always just assumed he’d be the one to bring it up.

“I’ve thought about it myself. Do you think we’re ready for that?” They were young, but lots of people even younger than them were having babies. And, the kingdoms were at peace. If they waited any longer, who knew what would happen?

“Are we ever going to really be ready? For anything?” That was some surprising wisdom from his normally goofy husband.

“No, I—I suppose not.” He couldn’t read Alfred’s expression at all.

“You don’t have to tell me right now, I just wanted to ask you.” Did Alfred think he didn’t want this?

“Alfred?”

“Yes?” He looked hopeful.

“I’ve been drinking moon tea for nearly eight years, it’s going to take a couple of weeks to get that out of my system.”

“Okay.”

“And we need to tell Yao, we can’t just spring a baby on him. He needs to plan.”

“O-okay.” Alfred looked halfway between surprised and happy. “So, are we doing this? Are we having a baby?”

“Well it doesn’t work like that, love. We have to put some effort into it. It will probably take more than one try.” He was teasing him now.

And there was the smirk. “Oh, I’m prepared to _try_ , over and _over_ again, and in multiple positions if I can help it.”

Arthur pulled him down into a kiss, more innocent than before. “I’m so glad I married you.”

“I’m so glad I married _you_.” Arthur felt like his heart could burst. He stood, pulling Alfred to his feet with him.

“Alright, _your highness_ , let’s go back to our room so I can get some rest tonight, mm?”

“Rest is so boring. Let’s get _trying_!” He punctuated his last word with a smack on Arthur’s arse as he ran down the stairs.

Arthur sighed, but not in annoyance. “Git.” He said, with as much affection he could manage as he ran after his husband.

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY.
> 
> I was in Italy for a month. and really really really busy.
> 
> BUT! I did get to see like 1.5 million renaissance palaces so hella inspiration
> 
> I have this beast of a story planned out, but the beginning is the hardest to write.

Arthur ran to catch up with his childish husband as they ascended back up the tower of the King. When they reached the top, they were met by a frowning Jack Yao, in his silky nightclothes, clearly angered to be out of bed so late. 

“The guard on duty alerted me that the two of you were gone. It’s well after midnight! Honestly, do you two understand that you put yourselves at risk?”

Arthur felt sheepish. “I am sorry, Jack Yao. My foolish husband is a bad influence on me.” He smiled. It would do Yao well to lighten up a little bit.

Alfred scoffed. “Hey—I did it for you; don’t throw _me_ under the bus!” Alfred was trying and failing not to smile.

Arthur played along without thinking. “Yeah, because you had to plan an elaborate surprise in the middle of the night just to tell me you want to knock me up,” He continued “Because the thought of sleeping with you is just _so_ revolting.” He rolled his eyes.

Alfred’s mood shifted to wanting again, he could see the change in his eyes. “ _Is_ it now?”

A small _mmhmm_ drew them away from each other.

“What’s this about getting knocked up?” Jack Yao raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Oh gods. Arthur could feel himself getting red, and Alfred seemed to have the opposite reaction, going stark white.

“Um, surprise?” Alfred said, at a loss for other words.

Yao managed to somehow look deadly serious in multicolored silk and slippers. He pinched the middle of his nose and asked, “ Are you pregnant right now, Arthur?”

“No! No, I’m not, Yao. We were just thinking about maybe…trying?” Arthur could tell that Yao was about ten seconds from losing his cool. He had no idea what the other begetter would say.

He simply smiled a tired smile. “A baby is a big responsibility. But, I know you can handle it. I’ll begin preparations, and you tell me when it’s happened.”

Arthur was filled with relief. He didn’t know why, but he had thought that Yao would fight them on this.

Yao smiled for a fond second, and then was back to his normal (not) sunny disposition.

“Alright gentlemen. Good night. I hope to never see you at this time of night again.” And just like that, he was gone.

Alfred yawned. “Well, now he knows.”

Arthur caught his husband’s yawn. “Now he knows.”

They opened the doors to their shared chambers, heading straight for the bed. Arthur landed flat on his back, and rolled his eyes as Alfred climbed on top of him.

“You know, I thought that Yao scolding us would really kill the mood, but here we are.”

Arthur reached up to trace his jawline. “Here we are.”

Alfred peppered kisses to his cheek, and down to his neck. It tickled, and Arthur found himself laughing as Alfred bounced back up to give him a peck on the lips. He deepened the kiss, because he needed more; he always needed more when it came to Alfred.

Alfred made a soft noise of approval and moved forward, rolling his hips into Arthur’s and Arthur broke the kiss to gasp. Alfred chuckled and sat up on his knees to remove his own pajama shirt, giving Arthur a wonderful view of his muscular torso. Arthur couldn’t help but lead his fingers to the string holding his trousers up, and frowned as Alfred smacked his hand away.

“Not yet, sweetie, be patient.” Bastard.

“Don’t call me that!” He huffed.

“Okay, _honey_.” That was it. Arthur ignored the redness of his cheeks as he yanked Alfred’s own shirt off his body and pulled Alfred down on him once again, kissing him for all he was worth. They both moaned from the skin-to-skin contact, and Alfred began picking up from where he left off, rolling his clothed erection against Arthur’s now-naked one.

Arthur’s focus was narrowed down to pinpoints: Alfred’s tongue tracing his in a fierce battle, Alfred’s hand holding his, the other one tracing down his side and gripping his hip as he ground into him.

“More, gods, I need more.” Arthur heard himself say way too soon, but Alfred compiled, dreadfully breaking contact to remove the rest of his nightclothes, and returning with the lubricating scented oil in its decorated little vial.

Alfred pulled his hips forward and upwards, and just as Arthur was about to say that he didn’t appreciate being pulled around like a ragdoll, the smell of roses entered the air, and Alfred’s slick fingers were tracing their way around his entrance. Instead of complaining, he moaned, and then Alfred was pushing two of those fingers against him and at last, he was inside him, moving fluidly, with just enough pressure to drive Arthur insane.

Arthur, being used to the feeling, chose to enjoy the moment, rocking his hips into the fingers and helping Alfred find the right speed, as Alfred seemed more interested in sucking a love bite into Arthur’s inner thigh.

“Alright, love. Come on.” Alfred withdrew his fingers and coated himself in more sweet-smelling lubricant.

“Whatever you want, _honey_.” He said, in a sentimental voice, and pushed in. They both moaned rather loudly, because, to be quite honest, this was the first time in a while for them, not for lack of wanting, just for lack of time.

“Oh gods, _Arthur_ , you feel so good.” Alfred said his name like a prayer and Arthur could feel his blush as his hips moved of their own accord and pulled him in deeper. Alfred began to move then, as fluidly as his fingers before, not very slow, but not all that fast, either. He liked to drape Arthur’s body with his own when they were face to face like this, bodies aligned so he could be close to him, so he could press kisses onto his neck, on his cheek, on his lips until Arthur was gasping for air, feeling numb to everything except those kisses and the throbbing deep inside him.

Drunk with pleasure, Arthur couldn’t tell how long they’d spent like this, feeling tiny sparks of _something_ as Alfred moved inside him, sparks of pleasure that made him shiver with how good it felt. He realized with a start that he was coming, felt his body convulsing around Alfred and his own spend in between their stomachs. He felt Alfred’s movements inside him becoming more and more erratic and quick until he was coming as well, filling up his body with warmth, hot breaths panting against his neck, until the good king rolled to his side of the bed with an audible _oof._

Arthur didn’t like being anywhere but in Alfred’s arms after they made love, so he rolled over to Alfred’s side, using his husband’s body as a pillow.

Alfred was all too willing to let Arthur snuggle up to him, although he ruined the quiet peace by asking, “Why don’t we do this every night?”

It was more of a joke than a question, but Arthur had an answer: “It’s because we’re very busy, very tired people.”

“Well, I’m about to decree a new law which says that for at least fifteen minutes a day, no one can bother me so I can have my queen.”

“Fifteen minutes? Your queen is disappointed in you already.” He smiled against his skin.

“I mean, I said _at least_. If I don’t get at least that amount of time, who knows what will happen? I might lose it and start fucking you in front of dignitaries and guests of the crown and then everyone will be upset and jealous because the entire court wants to screw at least one of us.”

“Very true. Go to sleep, Al.” His eyelids were getting heavy.

“And I mean, how do people expect us to have an heir when they keep us busy until the sun comes up?”

“Also very true. _Go to sleep_. Al.”

“Oh. Speak of the devil, there’s the sun now.” Alfred said, almost disbelieving.

“What?” Arthur turned to look out the floor-to-ceiling window and it was true. The sun was coming up. Already he could hear the horses on the cobblestones of the palace courtyard a hundred feet below them, the shouting of vendors from the Capitol City coming up to sell their goods to the servants of the nobles who lived in mansions surrounding the palace or in the palace itself. He could already smell the first brews of morning tea and coffee, the baking of fresh bread from the kitchens below them.

And he knew that his peaceful sleep for the night was over.

Like clockwork, a gaggle of serving maids walked past the door and flirted with their guards, meaning that very naked Arthur and his very naked husband would need to be ready to begin their day within the hour.

Alfred groaned and rolled over again, and Arthur pulled him up out of bed.

“Bath. We need a bath, love. Come on.”

Alfred groaned some more, but complied, allowing Arthur to drag him to their en suite bathroom and begin to draw them a bath.

The tub was large enough for both of them so sit in comfortably, and they washed without much trouble, to tired to make any splashes or try anything that might lead to more sex.

Although Alfred did whack his arse with a towel as they began to dress for the day.

…

The first thing that Mei, the serving girl assigned for today, did was pour out cups of coffee and tea for them. They were allowed a few moments of silent sipping before Jack Yao burst through the doors, carrying a long list of things to do.

“Now, I hope you’ve gotten some rest, because by tonight, Hearts and Diamonds will be here to celebrate your anniversary.”

And Arthur thought, _this is how I shall die: not by tragic means, but by exhaustion_.


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM NOT GIVING UP ON THIS SO HERES PORN AND PLOT

The Throne Room was sparkling from head to toe, like it always was for such occasions, and Arthur reveled in its glory as he stepped into his own carefully planned party. It was more of a small gathering, really, as the only people they were hosting that night were the Royal families of Hearts and Diamonds. Only those two, because Clubs was “simply too far away.”

And still licking their wounds. Arthur decided to make his way through all of his guests, beginning with the Hearts.

The Jack of Hearts, Feliciano was overjoyed to see him again, as he was also a Mage. He loudly exclaimed his joy as he squeezed Arthur tight, and in his excitement was speaking in Italian, rather then English. Being near someone with a great deal of magic made Arthur miss his duties as a Mage, although he was grateful that they were currently not needed. He often felt like it had been a century since he needed to use his magic, and the power he could feel inside of him buzzed right under the surface, just waiting to come out. Arthur quietly asked him of his brother Lovino, and Antonio, the Mage of Fire, and Feliciano loudly replied that he heard they were possibly engaged. Arthur was happy to know that his friend was well. Alfred would be happy too, as his jealousy towards Antonio never fully went away.

Feliciano wasn’t known for holding a conversation, so he was off to the next person quicker than the current of the fastest river. The Jack’s flighty energy contrasted with Queen Kiku’s quiet energy, and still Arthur was glad to see him. Kiku had become his most unexpected friend, and they kept a heavy correspondence over anything and everything. They would exchange books, teas and other things they thought the other would like, and even though they came from completely different cultures, they became closer than any friend Arthur had previously made. 

“Queen Arthur. It is quite wonderful to see you in person once again. Thank you for the earl grey tea, I found it quite enjoyable.” He bowed slightly.

“You are welcome, Queen Kiku. I also must thank you for the picture book of cats you sent me, I loved it.”

Their polite conversation continued on for a while. Kiku’s upbringing would not let him speak anything but polite pleasantries at such gatherings, so he supposed they would reconvene their talks of rumors and politics with their next letters. Kiku moved on with a bow, and Arthur approached the King of Hearts.

Ludwig was quiet, seemingly overwhelmed by Feli’s big mouth as the Jack continued to loudly greet everyone he knew, and he really did know everyone. Ludwig smiled fondly when Arthur made his well wishes. The King of Hearts was truly a serious person, and Arthur wondered for the hundredth time how he and the Jack were so close. He supposed it was love that made it work.

He stopped for a drink of tea and a small cake, when Alfred came up next to him.

“I’ve got a surprise for you.” There was a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Oh yeah? Will it be better than all these gifts we’re about to receive for our anniversary?” Arthur teased right back. It was quiet here, as the people around the room were pre-occupied with polite chatter.

As he made his way over to the Diamonds, he was greeted overdramatically by King Francis. The man kissed both of his cheeks and bowed in an exuberant display. Arthur rolled his eyes. In their three-year relationship, Arthur had gone from hating the man to reluctantly enjoying his presence. He realized eventually that Francis was simply an affectionate and flirty man, and that he would never actually make a move on him for real. They began a sarcastic friendship after that. 

“Mon cher, it has been simply too long.”

“I think it hasn’t been long enough.” Francis smiled then.

“I can assure you that it is certainly long enough,” he said with a wink.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, pervert.”

“You will one day, cherie.”

Arthur scoffed, hiding a laugh. He moved along to greet the rest of the Diamonds.

As much as Arthur wanted to greet the sweet Lily, her brother stood guard over her like a dog, and quite frankly, Arthur couldn’t stand Vash, so he nodded a greeting to both of them as he made his way over to Alfred once more.

Alfred was dressed to the nines, all tailored suit jacket and shiny shoes, and Arthur was filled with an urge to rip every shred of fabric off of him. Alfred began to wave his hand in front of Arthur’s face, and that’s when he realized that Alfred had been talking. 

“I’m not a piece of meat, Arthur. Stop looking at me like that.” Alfred was trying and failing not to laugh as he teased his husband.

Arthur, of course, was now blushing. “Shut up, let’s just go open up our gifts.”

The families all gathered around as they began to unwrap their presents.

From the Diamonds, a set of jeweled gloves for Arthur, and a jeweled sword sheath for Alfred. The Diamond Kingdom honestly had more diamonds and money than they knew what to do with, so the gifts were accepted graciously.

And from the Hearts, gifts of knowledge. A set of musical books for Alfred.

Alfred smiled fondly. “How did you know I liked music?”

Queen Kiku answered: “A friend.” Arthur, of course, told him. Alfred had moved the old piano from their spot into a new room for music.

And for Arthur, the histories of the Mages, and the retelling of the battle against dark magic. Only two books, but old books, important books. Arthur knew they had to be a fortune to procure,

“Thank you, thank you so much!” Ludwig nodded.

“There is no better owner for these books.”

Arthur passed the gifts on to the servant girl assisting them with the presents. They were about to say their goodbyes when the servant girl spoke clearly, but timidly:

“Your Majesties, there is one more gift here.” She held up a small wrapped parcel. Written on it in beautiful script was his name. Arthur.

No Queen Arthur. No Mage Arthur. Not even Arthur Kirkland. Just…Arthur.

As he looked upon the parcel, he was suddenly hit with the feeling of uneasiness. His magic surged up like the feeling of bile in his throat, and when Alfred put a hand on his shoulder, he was shocked by the static Arthur had created.

Arthur looked at the serving girl. “Open it.” He said, warily.

She did so, quietly and carefully unwrapping the folds of the parchment until she held a shiny, reflecting card in her hands.

It was like no playing card Arthur had ever seen. It had a similar design, but he could feel the magic radiating off of it in waves. No one was speaking. On the face of the card was a jester, but someone had defaced the card and drawn a crown on it in a red paint. Or was that _blood?_

On the bottom of the card, two words were illustrated: The Fool.

The girl moved to hand the card over. As she did, the card’s edge cut a long line down her palm. She shrieked and dropped the card. Francis handed her a handkerchief for her now bloodied hand.

“Go home, Mei. We’ll take care of the rest, said Yao. 

The girl got up, and moved away from the group quickly, holding the handkerchief tight to her hand.

Jack Yao cleared his throat. “Let’s not dawdle here any longer. I know we still have a few hours of daylight, but it’s been a long day for all of us—perhaps we all need some sleep.”

He pulled out a handkerchief of his own, and picked up the card from the floor.

…

When Alfred and Arthur arrived in their chambers, Alfred was on him all too fast.

“So what…does your surprise…involve?” Arthur mumbled, in between kisses.

“Exactly what you’d expect.” Alfred smirked as he pulled off layers of silk and velvet.

“Oh, perfect.” Apparently the time for talking was over, because Alfred began to kiss down his neck, down his chest. Lately, Arthur mused, Alfred had planned out this part of their life to the minute. It was time to change that.

He grabbed Alfred by the shoulders, wrenching him away from the love bites he was sucking into pale skin. Alfred began to protest, of course, but Arthur stopped him.

“You’re not the only one capable of surprises, love.” He switched their positions so he had Alfred against the wall, and then sunk down to his knees. Alfred was brought up to be a gentleman, taught to please his partners, and his words protested as Arthur brought him out from his underclothes.

His body, however, had chosen to become very, very interested at the sight of Arthur on his knees, with a fistful of hard cock.

Arthur began by licking a slow stripe up the underside, watching as the tension melted away from the King’s shoulders. He licked at the tip and then took it inside his mouth, still tonging slowly, _slowly_ , and sunk further down.

“Oh merciful gods, Arthur.” Alfred moaned as he grabbed fistfuls of Arthur’s hair. Alfred rather enjoyed pleasing Arthur, and he liked when Arthur pleased him, but Arthur knew that he’d rather get Arthur to come than to come before Arthur. He didn’t often ask Arthur to do this for him.

Which was a shame, because Arthur knew he was sinfully, _sinfully_ good at sucking cock.

He sucked his cheeks in harder, making his mouth even smaller, making it hard to accommodate the thickness and the length that his husband was blessed with. One of his hands was around the base of it, stroking what he couldn’t get in his mouth, and the other had begun to fondle Alfred’s firm backside. Alfred made soft noises of approval, stroking his hair, keeping his control and doing all he could to not be aggressive. 

Well, that wouldn’t do. Arthur pushed his hand forward, forcing Alfred to rock his hips into his wet warmth, encouraging him to fuck his mouth. And, oh gods, Alfred took the hint. He abandoned his careful restraint and slammed Arthur forward on his cock, eliciting moans from both of them.

Arthur couldn’t keep up his skillful work at Alfred’s pace, so he let his King have control of the situation. He couldn’t help but think about how he looked to Alfred, eyes unfocused, thighs trembling in want, mouth stretched around his length, moaning like he was fucking his ass, not his mouth.

Alfred’s pace became erratic, and his noises became louder and louder, and that was all the warning Arthur got before Alfred came down his throat. He swallowed it all, looking not unlike the cat that ate the cream when he was finished.

Alfred was panting, spent, stroking his hair gently in a silent apology for yanking at it so much. Once he had regained his breath, he smirked once more. Gods, he looked like the devil. Arthur felt himself throbbing in want.

“Don’t you think for a second that I am done with you.” Alfred yanked him up and dragged the both of them out onto their balcony, both of them naked as the day they were born.  
“Alfred! We’re indecent and outside!” Arthur tried to cover up his body.

“And who can see us here? What tower is higher than the Tower of the King?”

He had a point. The only one who could witness their naked bodies all the way up here were the gods themselves. Arthur looked out and saw all of Spades, in front of them the capital city, turning into docks and harbors until there was blue ocean. He looked to his left and saw the beginnings of fields melting into mountains in the distance. To his right begun the forests of evergreen trees. His heart filled with pride for his Spades, his land.

Alfred had come up behind him, wrapping his arms around his body, and kissing the sensitive spot behind his ear. The hot July sunset blanketed them in a comforting warmth as Arthur melted into the touch.

Alfred whispered into his ear. “Look at this beautiful land. Look how it sings for us, shines for us.” Alfred began to grind his hips against his ass, length getting hard again, craving more.

One of his hands gripped Arthur’s cock, and he cried out, finally getting some attention to his straining need. Alfred continued:

“And I am going to fuck you out here, make love to you in front of the whole Kingdom, in front of the gods, so they all know how much I love you, and how strong we are.”

“Oh gods, Alfred!” Arthur moaned, needing more. Alfred moved them then, pushed Arthur over to the balcony. He was bent over the top of it, so he could see everything the sun touched. The cool marble was covered in a tapestry of soft material, as to not hurt him.

Alfred uncorked a bottle of lubricating salve and spread it onto his fingers. By this point Arthur could feel his whole body trembling, shaking in need. Alfred pushed two fingers in at once, impatient after all that, and Arthur keened, pushing back like it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t. He moaned as two fingers became three, hitting all sorts of spots, because Alfred knew him too well, knew what he needed.

“I love you so fucking much.” Alfred said, as he lined up the head of his cock.

“Me too.” Whispered Arthur, more to the wind than to Alfred, because Alfred already knew.

He pushed in slowly. Slow enough that Arthur could feel every inch. Slow enough that Arthur felt nothing but pleasure. It had been less than a day since they had been together like this, but every time felt better than the last. Arthur cried out loud and was ashamed. He tried to muffle his sounds as Alfred slowly rocked into him, picking up the pace with every thrust.

“No, Arthur. I want to hear you.” Alfred said, followed by swears as he began to go deeper.

The floodgates opened then, moan after moan of his name, of the gods, pouring out of his mouth. Alfred was also a great deal more vocal than usual, as his speed inside of Arthur became too much for either of them to bear. Arthur looked out at the almost set sun as it fell out of the sky.

“I can’t hold on any longer. I’m—I’m coming.” Arthur gasped as his orgasm was ripped from his body. As he did, lightning struck in the air, static electricity crackling in the sky around them. As Alfred came inside him with a moan that was more like a gasp, it began to rain. They let it fall on them as Alfred pulled out of Arthur, and pulled him off the balcony to embrace him.

“I love you, Alfred.”

“Happy Anniversary.” 

Alfred led him inside again. Arthur was beginning to get droopy eyed from lack of sleep, and Alfred took it upon himself to dry both of them, and to clothe them in sleep clothes. Arthur was just beginning to lull away on the king’s shoulder when there were 3 urgent sounding knocks on the door.

They both groaned together. Alfred answered the door. Standing there was Jack Yao in his silly nightclothes again, but the look on his face was no laughing matter.

“You both need to come with me, right now.”

…

They were led down the tower, down the stairs, down until they were in the servant’s quarters, and everyone who worked in the castle was there, ashen faced, eyes rimmed red from crying.

Yao entered the servant girl, Mei’s small chamber. Inside, she was stark white, all color drained out of her body, save for the unnatural purple of her cut hand, which was slowly creeping up her arm. A small trickle of red blood fell from her mouth. On her body, a new card, The Magician, was placed.

Alfred went stark white. “Is she—“

“Dead? Yes, Your Majesty. She has been poisoned by the playing card addressed to the Queen.”

All eyes were on Arthur then. Yao cleared his throat to speak.

“Queen Arthur, someone has made an attempt on your life.”


End file.
